


Aftermath

by taviceline



Category: Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, DC Animated Universe, DC Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Arkham Verse, Feels, Gen, Light Angst, Neo-Gotham, Resurrected Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 05:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12204498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taviceline/pseuds/taviceline
Summary: ' With every fiber of his being, Jason tried to run or to speak. To do anything except be near the Joker. It felt as if his body was under someone else’s control. Jason took the crowbar offered to him and stepped up in front of his younger self. The young Robin looked from the crowbar to him. Jason foolishly expected to see fear or anger in his younger self’s eyes. But this was himself that he was looking at. All Jason saw was acceptance and a pleading gaze. 'Years after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight, Jason is still living in Neo-Gotham and going about his normal life. At least - as normal as it can get.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> this is a pretty early work so dont judge if its horrible lmao

“Why won’t you just kill me?” Jason heard someone whisper in a croak voice. He stepped out of the shadow wearing his militia uniform, just behind the Joker. If he had any sense, he’d shoot the pasty white bastard then and there. Instead, he watched as the Joker began to smile at the Robin. At him. His smile wasn’t even maniacal. It was satisfied. Jason could see it now that he was in front of the Joker. That question let the Joker know that he was broken.

“Oh, I’m not gonna kill ya, bird boy.” The pale villain’s smile turned almost sympathetic. Almost. He turned to face Jason, who stayed surprisingly still. “He is.”

With every fiber of his being, Jason tried to run or to speak. To do anything except be near the Joker. It felt as if his body was under someone else’s control. Jason took the crowbar offered to him and stepped up in front of his younger self. The young Robin looked from the crowbar to him. Jason foolishly expected to see fear or anger in his younger self’s eyes. But this was himself that he was looking at. All Jason saw was acceptance and a pleading gaze.

Jason raised the gun to the boy’s head and he could’ve sworn he moved closer. As he pulled the trigger, he awoke back to reality with a start. Jason was automatically surprised by the water trickling down his chest. He was in the shower. 

“Shit,” Jason panted. He took a moment to get his breath, putting the safety back on the gun he held and placing it on the toilet. Construction workers could be heard outside Jason’s apartment, not that he was paying attention. However, Jason let out a dry laugh as he ran a hand through his hair. Gotham was finally getting over it.

It’d been—what, years?—since Bruce died. For most of those years, all anyone could talk about was the explosion of Wayne Manor and the death of Bruce Wayne. After some time, the discussion died down. People finally went on with their lives.

As much as Jason wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to search for Bruce. That man was getting too old to live anyway. Hell, there wasn’t even point in continuing the militia. Bruce was dead. So he disbanded it. Allowed normal people live their normal lives. Something Jason knew he wouldn’t get the chance to have.

Jason snapped himself out of his thoughts, turning the shower off. He placed a hand on the wall to keep himself stable. He blindly grabbed a towel as he stepped out of the shower. Once he made his way to his bedroom, he reached for his phone on the table, only to see that the charger was on the floor instead of in the outlet. Jason sighed and stared at his phone. “Fuck you,” he mumbled.

The mirror caught Jason’s eye and as much as he hated it, he couldn’t look away from his reflection. The mass number of scars all over his body stood out against his normally suntanned skin. And then there was his face. Now Jason did look away. Whenever he looked at the brand on his cheek, he felt just like he did back then. Helpless, broken, and….scared. He hated it. Even though the Joker was dead, Jason knew he’d never fully escape the bastard.

Putting on his Arkham Knight uniform, Jason got dressed quickly. Once a Robin, always a Robin. Dick used to say that all the time with a goofy smile that was just infectious. Jason tried to remember what the former Nightwing was up to now. He hadn’t kept in contact with his former family in a while. Not since Wayne Manor blew to bits.

“Bye bed,” Jason said under his breath as he made his way out through the fire escape. When he was on the roof, he couldn’t help but gaze at the city beneath him. He wasn’t a bat anymore but he damn near felt like one. Jason started running on the roof, jumping onto the next until he found his usual patrol spot.

A shrill laugh beneath Jason made his breath catch suddenly. He turned quickly, only to find a girl hugging some guy—likely her boyfriend by the lack of a ring.  _Scratch that. Her fiancé,_  Jason thought, judging from the slight bulge in the guy’s jacket. He let out a soft sigh of relief and continued to look for any signs of danger, ignoring the pang in his chest.

Loved ones weren’t a luxury he could afford. For Jason, they weren’t even a luxury. They were just liabilities, people who would let him down at some point down the road. Like Bruce. Jason resolved that he was better off not trusting people or letting people in. That limited him to himself and maybe a few one-night stands but he was okay with that.

The street Jason looked down upon had renovated buildings. This was the start of what Commissioner—sorry, Mayor Gordon was calling Neo-Gotham. It was a sort of rebirth after what happened with the fear toxin. New buildings, new architecture, new Gotham. The giant plant that Ivy created is being replaced with a sort of memorial to her. The mayor was smart enough to make sure that the materials to make the memorial were organic and wouldn’t screw with the environment.

As Jason jumped again from roof to roof, he found himself just two buildings away from what used to be Crime Alley. The street was replaced with a condo. It was part of the rebuilding of Gotham. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit sentimental. His past life might’ve sucked but that was still home. The sensors in his suit could pick up something behind him. He turned around with both guns pointed at none other than…damn it.

Amanda Waller looked at Jason’s guns with a bored expression. “Are you done, Jason?”

“Sneakin’ up on people is not very schway, Mandy,” Jason said, faking a scolding tone. “What the hell do you want?”

“For you to kill someone.” Amanda gave him a picture of a couple. A dark haired man and a redheaded woman.

Jason’s helmet immediately scanned the picture, searching every database known to man. The McGinnises. The worst thing that one of them had done was forget to pay a parking ticket. The father worked for the Powers/Wayne Company. They had a small kid, Terry. “I don’t do innocents, Mandy.”

“Call me that again and I’ll shoot you,” Amanda warned with a sigh. “And this is for the greater good. They need to die.”

Jason scoffed. “They’re human, like most of us in the world. They’ll die sooner or later and not by my hand.”

“Jason, look around.” Amanda motioned towards the former Crime Alley. “Gotham is changing. And it needs a Batman to go with it.”

At the mention of Batman, Jason immediately tensed. “Believe me, Gotham will be fine. I’m not killing them so that their kid ends up becoming Bruce. I wouldn’t even wish that on my worst enemy.” 

Stepping closer to Amanda, Jason knew that she had a sniper close by. But he also didn’t give a shit and had bulletproof armor. “By the way—and this is just because of your reasoning for wanting them dead—if you hurt them, you’ll answer to me. I’ve still got friends in some places.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Now since when do you keep people around long enough to make friends?”

Jason’s helmet caught snippets of audio from down the street. Someone getting mugged. He did a small salute to Amanda and prepared to jump down. “Not that I don’t love our talks but I’ve got a job to do. Tell your newest Suicide Squad that I’ll be back to kick their asses.”

“Bruce says hello.”

Jason hesitated for a moment but he still jumped down onto the street, landing between the mugger and the family. As he fought, he pushed all thoughts of Bruce out of his head. He was dead. And even if he wasn’t, he was dead to Jason. Like Amanda said, Jason didn’t have friends and he definitely didn’t have family. It didn’t matter. In the famous words of a fairly famous dead billionaire hero, he worked alone.


End file.
